I’m currently in the process of setting up my own blog, one about fashion… it’s not a subject I take lightly. I’ve been trying to gather knowledge about what grabs people’s attention in this fast paced, social media frenzied world we live in. Here are some of my curated thoughts.
if it initially pleases the eyes, the eyes will want more
the more you post, the more your content is likely to gain traction
but make sure it’s what YOU think it quality – don’t try to copy someone else
not essential. not easy, either. but it certainly does help.
This week, Dr Ramon Labato presented a guest lecture on recent changes in the television industry, including the impact of streaming modes like Netflix.
What counts as TV these days is very subjective, and there is a notion that the internet and social media tv based viewing are killing old-school television. However, according to the Q4 2016 Australian Multi-Screen Report, Australian homes spend an average of 2.7 hours watching traditional broadcast television, compared to 0.5 hours on average spent viewing online video. So although non-traditional online viewing is still on the rise and many Australians spread their viewing across multiple devices, TV remains by far the most-watched screen.
So while TV is not necessarily approaching death in the future of our increasingly complex media consumption, understanding the multifaceted nature of TV is crucial to all players in the market.
Some of what was discussed in the lectorial revolves around the direction of the younger generation and how they consume media, compared to a different experience older generations typically share. While some are excited by new-found freedom and tailored tastes when consuming television, others are concerned that adolescents are missing out on a cultural encounter of mass media viewing – therefore “promoting social polarization.” (Webster, 2016)
Myself and many others grew up watching ‘Friends’, a classic 90s, early 2000s sitcom that would be on the television anytime we came home from school. It was something we all watched and discussed the next day – a phenomenon we all shared together. Although I find this occurring less and less as I grow up, the same sort of concept is still there. Now with the advancement of social media, I find we are able to connect upon ideas and share our interests faster and more effectively than ever before.
One day, you’ll have a Netflix original like ‘Riverdale’ come onto the scene, and the next, almost every teenager is watching it and communicating their thoughts online, or at least reading others’. To me, it’s social union at its finest.
This week’s lectorial featured Kyla Brettle as a guest lecturer, giving advice on how to put an audio piece together in the most effective way. I was instantly thankful to hear her speak because I knew I’m not very experienced in creating anything audio based without images or video to support, so I’m glad Kyla was so helpful.
Something that stood out to me as an important lesson was using the most powerful bits of sound to your advantage in progressing the story line or audio piece. Identifying the most compelling moments, ones that ‘make your hair stand on end’ and not just putting them anywhere in the storyboard. According to Kyla, it’s best to put your second best bit of content at or up close to the front of the piece, and the greatest bit at the climax of the piece (close to or at the very end of the piece). After this, your task is to then create the best path between these two points in audio.
Another point that seemed prominent to me was the art of being subtle in your work. When working the soundscape of a piece, using sound effects in strictly obvious places versus more subtle points in the storyline can differentiate a high quality piece from a less creative one. For example, rather than using the sound of a train when a narrator first mentions being at the station may not be as effective as working in the sound of the train earlier, so the audience anticipates it in the text, making it stick out more. This is why some sound designers, when the narrators mention a cat, use the sound of a dog barking instead.
Something we were always advised of in drama class is that silence can be just as powerful as noise, and not saying anything lets the audience fill in the gaps themselves. I found it interesting that this can be true of an audio piece too, where a lull in sound can be used to immobilise the listener and capture their attention, often causing the audience to crave more/a resolution. I believe this is something I would like to implement in our PB4 to create a more provocative and stimulating piece.
In this week’s workshop, we covered started by covering some simple elements of sound design, including perspective and social distance.
Perspective:
Figure: Most important/focus of attention
Ground: Less prominent, ‘creates the listener’s social world’, setting context
Field: Provides spatial ‘volume’, background, more distant
Social Distance – your (listener) relationship with the sound:
Intimate – soft, close, whispering
Personal – a close friend, relaxed, conversational, familiar
Informal – still casual, maybe a bit nervous
Formal – lectures, monotone, less variation, written/prepared speech
Public – shouty, a voice amongst many
We then moved onto listening to an audio documentary called ‘My Lobotomy’. The piece by NPR primarily follows a man named Howard Dully, uncovering secrets of his own transorbital lobotomy that was performed when he was only a young boy. An extremely confronting composition, I found the audio rather difficult to listen to, perhaps because there was no visuals involved so only having the story to focus on made it all the more intense.
Whilst taking in the audio documentary, we also wrote down the noticeable story elements, sonic elements and sonic qualities, as shown below.
STORY ELEMENTS
SONIC ELEMENTS
SONIC QUALITIES
A lobotomy performed by a man on a 12 year old boy –
Howard Dully now on a search to find out what is wrong with him
Finds the man’s son who performed surgery on him –
“Trans-orbital lobotomy”
Son is definitely proud of his father??
Freedman’s fame grew but he wasn’t satisfied
The lobotomy performed on a woman in 1950 cured her headaches but gave her the mind of a child. She was incredibly smart before.
97 year old surgeon – does not approve of lobotomy method
In 1954, first psychiatric drug prescribed, lobotomy technique was over
Requested medical file from museum – contained everything including photo of ice picks in his eyes
When his step mother saw the procedure didn’t turn him into the vegetable, she got him out of the house and he became a ward of the state.
Talking to dad for the first time in 40 years
Dad agrees it was a mistake but doesn’t like to dwell on the negative – refuses to take any responsibility
Freedman died of cancer in 1972
Anyone who knows his name thinks of him as a monster
themes/focus:
mental illness
Reconciliation
Loss
Introduction – Piano music layered with speech
Voice recording from 1968
Old music and radio recordings
Narration – studio, sometimes played over background conversation
Old music – grainy and rough
Recordings of the doctor – imperfect and ‘old timey’
Obviously, the story line was very encapsulating so it was difficult to focus on the sonic qualities in great detail, although they definitely added a sense of time and texture in what felt like a somewhat unconscious way to the listener.
Slightly late to the party on this one, with the first series debuting in 2015 and reaching over 2.5 million downloads, ‘My Dad Wrote a Porno’ is unexpectedly hilarious to put it mildly. It’s a UK podcast about Jamie Morton and his dad’s late-blooming career as a writer of substandard erotica. Each episode sees Jamie and his two best friends, James and Alice, reading a chapter every week out loud and reacting to the cringe-worthy craftsmanship of the explicit novel. If you think you do not really want to listen to 13 episodes of adults giggling over smutty material, you may want to think again.
Hosted by BFFs Kathy Tu and Tobin Low, Nancy offers provocative, brazen, and amusing conversations about the modern LGBTQ experience. Featuring special guest interviews and intimate personal recounting, Nancy shines in its ability to express an empathetic sense of how it feels to be young and searching.
Pulling apart the latest in music, books and film, Bigmouth provides an unpretentious, clever view on all things pop culture. Presented by Andrew Harrison and Matt Hall, both seasoned reviewers in the business, the podcast also features many guest reviewers including Alexis Petridis, Robin Turner from Heavenly Records, Jude Rogers and more, discussing what are, according to Matt, “things that shouldn’t really matter to grown people.”
If you’re after something different that your usual commute to school or work podcast (although this one could be used exactly for that if you like), check out Mary and Richard Maddux’s guided meditation podcast. While each has a general theme or purpose (letting go of resistance, body awareness), all are delivered in calm, quiet tones and may be suitable for bedtime enjoyment if you struggle winding down at night.
Rabbits is the new horror-thriller podcast that has you questioning what’s real and what’s fiction. Host Carly Parker suspects her friend’s disappearance can be explained by a mysterious game that, according to rumour, can make players go insane or die. It’s not easy to explain, but Carly’s search for her missing friend will have you fascinated and intrigued from the first second.
This week I came across a Ted Talk by former Judge Jim Tamm, an expert in building effective and collaborative workplace environments.
Jim speaks a lot about chickens, because according to him, they have a lot to teach us about collaboration. He’s interested in looking at the difference between what he calls ‘Green Zone chickens’ (chickens who get along well with each other) and ‘Red Zone chickens’ (chickens who are aggressive and try to suppress the egg production of other chickens by harming them).
Green zone chickens who were housed together had an egg production increase of 260% in just one year. The green zone was obviously more supportive, cooperative and more highly skilled at collaboration. As for the red zone chickens, after a year, there were hardly any of them left. #rip
It provides us an important lesson that translates into our own workplace environments – the one defining trait of the red zone chickens was DEFENSIVENESS. When you start getting defensive, you bring those around you down, not to mention yourself.
When issues arise in a group-work situation, people generally start to feel vulnerable, which is when this defensive behaviour arises. According to Tamm, “our thinking becomes rigid, our IQ drops about 20 points and we simply become stupid… and then you end up with a room full of red zone people who cannot solve a problem.”
Stop feeling defensive? Of course, easier said than done. Especially when you think you’re right and everyone else is wrong. Defensiveness can rule us and we don’t even recognise it until it’s too late.
However, it’s important to recognise that when we get defensive, it’s usually not from other people. It’s from our own fears that we don’t want to feel. Not surprisingly, Tamm says that one of the biggest fears we have is our own competency.
Indubitably, teamwork is crucial in many job areas, so it’s helpful to notice when this sort of defensive behaviour comes up and how it affects your collaboration process. Some common tell-tale signs of this are quickened breathing, withdrawal into deadly silence, blaming or shaming others and simply wanting to be right. And if you think you’ve never experienced any of these before, it’s highly likely you’re in denial, or as Tamm casually puts it, “overly medicated.”
Overcoming defensiveness is not something that can usually be done instantly, but it is extremely beneficial if you want to create a highly productive and positive workplace. The first step is acknowledging it, and if you can do that, you’re already halfway there.
This week’s workshop had us put into our groups for PB4, I wasn’t in class this week but I am lucky to be able to work with Joanna and Aria!
The workshop also included an ‘Intro to Recording Sound Exercise’ in which we were required to record a range of sounds for either of these topics:
What I like about RMIT City Campus
RMIT Library – different spaces and what you can do there
My favourite place on/near campus to grab a coffee/bite to eat…
The recordings also had to include:
* Interview material: in which one is the interviewer – the other the interviewee
– Conducted in two different styles:
Informal interview – happening ‘in field’ with the participant/interview interacting with the environment in some way.
Formal interview – simulating a studio-based recording as much as possible i.e. with the absolute minimal presence of any other sounds]
Atmosphere / Background sound
Spot sounds – special character sounds that will give your piece extra texture
Although I wasn’t able to complete this project, I believe I would have been interested in completing it on the best places on campus to grab a coffee/bite to eat, as by this point in the semester I am quite skilled in this area.
I’d imagine conducting an interview with a barista on campus if they would allow us to interview them, including the background noises of the coffee cart atmosphere/someone using an espresso machine. Alongside this would be a more formal interview with a student in a quiet room, eliminating as much background noise as possible. For spot sounds, I would include a recording of someone frothing milk to add texture and simulate a real coffee drinking experience.
Of course, if I were working in an actual group, all of this would be subject to my team mate’s ideas as well, completely able to change.
This week’s lectorial featured a special guest lecturer, Dr Rachel Wilson (current Co-Program Manager of the Bachelor of Communication – Media), giving an important lecture on why collaboration and being able to work as a team is one of the most essential skills to have on your CV.
A somewhat useful lesson to pay attention to due to the fact that Dr Wilson put it simply, almost all jobs in the media industry, an industry I’m sure all of us are at least slightly interested in, are collaborative. Media and communication workers need to know how to work in a team, and thankfully it is something you can learn – not necessarily a skill you need to have been born with.
In the past, I haven’t always had particularly amazing group project success. So, in order to truly want to work in a team these days, I took away some reasons to convince myself why collaboration can actually hugely benefit everyone. Including:
Increased efficiency – having multiple team members on board allows you to get the work done faster with shared responsibilities, whilst working towards a common goal or set of objectives.
A learning experience – working in a team means you get to learn from group discussions, gaining inspiration and ideas that may not have resulted from just working alone. Teams also bring people together from different backgrounds and levels of experience which can help in creating optimal solutions.
Support – having someone to help you along when you are struggling is a definite positive, your team members can help you get back on the track of producing great work.
Practice good communication – teamwork activities generally require meetings that enhance your written and verbal communication skills, an ability that is worth working on no matter what you do in life.
In order to practice good team work, I also made note of three of what I believe may be the most important collaboration guidelines:
Get on the same page – a critical step to begin with, each team member clearly knowing what the goals and objectives are helps keep everyone focused on the same idea.
Create a sense of unity – developing an identity within the group and dedicating time to establish communication procedures (e.g social media connections, meeting times, etc) helps everyone feel comfortable and needed.
Business insight – each team member should be assigned a role and specific tasks, along with some time management being put in place. Having a schedule to stick to and expected deadlines will give the project some structure in which the team can work together successfully.
